Have you ever found yourself saying this? You’ve asked God, “What went wrong?”, “It wasn’t supposed to be this way.”
Our minds race with thoughts of:
“I thought it would be easier.”
“I saw it going differently.”
“I didn’t expect to be alone.”
“Why did I lose this?”
“My dream has died.”
All of us at some point in our lives find ourselves asking those questions. We longed for life to be one way and then we woke up to discover that it turned out to be something completely different than what we had envisioned.
We are in a season of grief.
Grief doesn’t just mean we mourn what once was but we mourn what didn’t come to pass.
Maybe that is where you have found yourself lately. Be reminded that God hears your lament and he understands. Scripture shows us that many of God’s faithful cried out in moments of despair and in seasons of disappointment. God can shoulder your questions. Questions are not unbelief. Sorrow and anguish do not equate lack of faith.
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18
God is near to you. He doesn’t abandon you in the hardest of times but rather comes in closer. He sits beside you in the storm of your life and continues to write your story. Mary stood at the cross and saw death but resurrection was coming. Joseph was betrayed but God was writing justice. Ruth was left alone but God had someone in mind for her.
Faith doesn’t deny the hard moments but rather says “God, I will praise you in this storm because you are always faithful and never failing.” Faith says, “I will trust when I cannot see.” God is the author and finisher of your faith. He’s strong when you feel weak. He’s writing even when you have stopped dreaming and He will make beauty out of the ash heaps of our lives.
Everyone grieves differently and for different reasons.
The important thing to remember is that grief cannot stay longer than you allow it.
If grief has become an unwanted house guest to you, then it’s time to kick it out. Grief is natural and expected. Prolonged grief is a lie of your adversary to keep you bound in a season of depression and hopelessness, living a life that is stuck in a moment that God never intended you to stay in.
He has joy unspeakable waiting for you. Don’t feel guilty to dream again or laugh again.
Joy and grief are not mutually exclusive. Sometimes in life we have to learn to function in the tension of both of them. But it may be time for you to start magnifying joy over grief.
Today you might be living in the sorrow of unmet expectations but there is a new story being written. One day you will say to yourself “this didn’t turn out how I planned it but I’m so grateful that God authored a new, beautiful chapter.”
To hear more on this topic from the author of this blog, Carrie Christmas, check out episode 414 of the MercyTalk podcast titled Grief, Loss, & the Journey Back to Joy. In this episode, Mercy Multiplied’s Founder and President, Nancy Alcorn, unpacks Carrie’s personal story of overcoming grief through the healing power of Jesus.
Mercy Multiplied offers programs and resources that help people find freedom in Christ. Find out more at https://mercymultiplied.com/.